Nathan Coleman

Name: Nathan Coleman

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Grade: Senior

School: George Hunter High School

Hobbies and Interests: Bowling, die-cast toy cars, entrepreneurship, cooking, dancing, basketball

Appearance: Nathan Coleman stands 5'0" and carries 135 pounds on a somewhat overweight frame. Ethnically Caucasian, his face is round and flat with a small chin and a broad, flat-bridged nose, all characteristic of his Down syndrome. His straight, dirty-blond hair is carefully trimmed at least once a month and is parted on the left side. He has brown eyes that are slanted in accordance to his condition, and he wears thick-rimmed oval glasses to correct his vision. Unless he is distressed, Nathan is almost always smiling; his puffy cheeks and upturned brow give him a very jovial, kindly appearance.

Nathan loves to dress well and look good for school. He wears white or black tennis shoes with blue jeans or black slacks held up with a belt, and white, blue, or yellow collared shirts. In warmer weather, he wears basketball shorts and any of the t-shirts in his eclectic wardrobe. As long as the weather isn't too hot, he wears a navy blue Memphis Grizzlies blazer. On the day of the abduction, Nathan was wearing black sneakers, blue jeans, a Memphis Grizzlies t-shirt, and his beloved blazer.

Biography: Nathan Coleman was born on October 9th in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the only child of single mother Brandy Coleman. Despite being an unplanned and initially unwanted pregnancy, as the result of a drunken one-night stand with a man Brandy met at a club, Brandy decided to keep her child. Upon being born, the infant Nathan's physical appearance was enough cause to warrant suspicion of the possibility that he had been born with Down syndrome. As there was no familial history of Down syndrome, this was Brandy's first child, and she was only 19 years old when giving birth to Nathan, the risk of the condition was low enough that no prenatal testing had been done. Within the first month of Nathan's life, his condition had been confirmed via blood tests.

Brandy was initially mired in guilt over Nathan's condition. For a time, she was even filled with regret at having gone through with the pregnancy, but adoption was never seriously considered as an option as that only exacerbated her guilt. At the behest of her parents, Brandy attempted to search for the father of her child, but never learned of his identify and never saw him again after that night of which she had very little memory. Though she received support from friends and immediate family, it was the help that came from a 'Mothers of Down Syndrome and Autism' local support group, particularly interacting with teen and young-adult children with the condition, that convinced Brandy this was a parenthood worth experiencing.

Nathan grew up as any other child would, being raised by his mother and his grandparents, Richard and Nancy Coleman, in their three-bedroom home. By the time Nathan was one and a half years old, Brandy was forced to get a job in order to pay for her child's needs. It so happened that Richard had a longtime poker buddy who was a veterinarian, allowing Brandy to work as a desk clerk at his office. While Brandy was at work, the young Nathan was tended to by one or both of his grandparents. Everything had been carefully arranged and scheduled so at least one of the three adults was present in the house at all times.

Raising a child with Down syndrome could be challenging at times and it became clear as Nathan grew that his mental and emotional development needed tender love and care if he was to succeed at all in life. On the recommendation of the friends she had met through her support group, Brandy and her parents scheduled play dates with other children, both with and without Down syndrome for Nathan to interact with. Nathan proved to be a social butterfly and loved playing with kids; he especially loved to show off and share his toy cars, which he got packages of every year for his birthday and for Christmas. This had been such a tried-and-true icebreaker for him that even through his teen years, Nathan still brings a few of his favorite cars in rotations with him, showing them to friends or people he meets. He takes pride in keeping them in immaculate condition; even the slightest knock or dent upsets him. When they aren't being showed off, his collection sits on shelves in his room, arranged in neat lines.

As Nathan approached school age, the Coleman family was careful to consider all options for Nathan's education. Students with Down syndrome, they were told by Nathan's specialist, had variable academic performance and could only need minimal assistance or could instead need intensive supervision. Kindergarten acted as a formative year in determining Nathan's academic capabilities; he was given frequent assessments but was otherwise allowed to interact normally with his peers and participate in all of the same activities. The data from the assessments was then compiled and used to construct an IEP or Individualized Education Plan, to be updated yearly.

At home, Nathan was kept very busy with small chores given to him throughout the day to stave off boredom. Rinsing and drying dishes were his favorite activities, but he also enjoyed sweeping and dusting, while he refused to use the vacuum cleaner as the device was far too loud for his liking. Performing chores and other tasks was tied to a reward-based system in order to keep him encouraged. Daily rewards included getting to dance in the living room to some of his favorite music, getting a half-hour of TV time, or being taken to the park to shoot some basketball hoops. If Nathan was good all week, his grandparents would take him out to eat at his favorite restaurant, an Italian family-owned pizza and pasta joint. Brandy usually stayed at home on these outings, taking a much-deserved night off.

Nathan developed pronounced musical interests as he grew. Though he was offered a wide variety of music to listen to according to the varied tastes of Brandy, Nancy and Richard, he reacted most positively to pop music, especially to 80s era pop music. His absolute favorite artist is Michael Jackson, who he was first introduced to as a feature included with the movie Free Willy. Eagerly absorbing all media related to the 'King of Pop', Nathan incorporated many of Jackson's dance moves into his own dancing and has become quite skilled at emulating most of them. His favorite song of all time is Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal', but he cannot watch the video for 'Thriller' as he finds it too scary.

Though he faced health concerns stemming from his Down syndrome including respiratory issues, poor musculature and bad vision that needed to be corrected with eyeglasses, Nathan's attitude proved to be indomitably positive. By the time he was in third grade, Brandy no longer feared for his well-being, and the guilt she faced at bringing a disadvantaged child into the world was finally overpowered by the love for her only son. Thanks to his meticulously attentive upbringing, Nathan was an empathetic child who actively tried to do the right thing whenever possible. Like any child, he had bad days and bad moods where he was quicker to grow upset. Grampa Richard was the de facto disciplinarian when Nathan acted up, though punishment erred on the side of gentleness, and Nathan did not need to be punished often; when having an emotional episode, he was most commonly sat on the couch and told to take a break until he could calm down.

For his 11th birthday, Nathan had a pizza party with some friends at a local bowling alley. This was his first taste of bowling, a sport that would become the second fixture of Nathan's physical activity. He begged his mother and his grandparents to take him back, and so the bowling alley was added as an option for one of his weekly rewards for good behavior. During his first few forays into bowling, Nathan needed to use the bumpers to keep his ball in the lane. He also rolled the ball with both hands in a stooped-over manner. However, imitating the other bowlers he saw at the alley who impressed him by scoring strike after strike, Nathan worked to change his style to resemble theirs, slowly improving over time. Nowadays, Nathan is a surprisingly accomplished and skilled bowler and can score more than 200 points a game with semi-regularity.

The adjustment from middle school to high school was a careful one. Nathan's IEP was transferred to George Hunter High School where it was determined he would need special education classes for most of his subjects, but could operate independently enough without a personal aid or paraeducator accompanying him from class to class. However, he was deemed physically capable enough to participate in PE classes, albeit with the need for a permission slip to be sent home for certain activities such as flag football and swimming. Nathan also expressed interest in elective courses such as home economics, cooking, and business. These interests came as a surprise to his family; when asked why this had come about, Nathan revealed to them that when he grew up, he wanted to own a restaurant like his favorite one that they always visited. Impressed by his foresight, his counselor allowed Nathan to take home economics with the promise that if he performed well, he could continue taking more general-ed electives later on.

Nathan thoroughly enjoys life at George Hunter High and remains as extroverted as ever, offering hugs and high fives to everybody he meets. Classes can be a struggle for him and his performance is highly contingent on his interest in the subject matter. Nathan performs strongly in math (for his specialized bracket), vocational training, cooking and business, but struggles in speech and English, the latter of which is his least favorite class. While he has a speech impediment typical of people with Down syndrome, Nathan is otherwise verbal and has only minor difficulties in communicating with his peers. He loves to talk about anything that interests him, a good variety of things, and is sometimes so chatty that he ends up reprimanded by his teacher. Despite his cheerfulness, Nathan is very softhearted and empathetic, and he wounds easily; he is just as likely to cry for a minute or two for the smallest reason as he is to bounce right back with a smile, quick to heal.

Advantages: Nathan is a charismatic individual, good at making others feel at ease around him with his near-perpetual smile. He is quite determined and strong-willed; if he sets his mind to a particular goal, he will stop at nothing to see it through and it can be very difficult to dissuade or discourage him. He also has a peculiarly strong grip in his left hand from bowling, which can take by surprise those who aren't expecting it from him.

Disadvantages: Nathan has Down syndrome, a condition that affects him physically and mentally. His muscles are weak and poorly toned, and he is fairly slower than the average student. His vision is very poor as well; his prescription is -3.75, and so without his glasses he is almost completely blind. Nathan processes the world differently from most of his peers and spooks easily, and is prone to emotional outbursts of fright or grief. He is kind and loving to a fault, and would not conceivably wish harm on anybody.

Designated Number: Male Student No. 59

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Designated Weapon: MTs225 Shotgun

Conclusion: Ooh. Ooooooh. Ooooh no. Oh. Oof. Shit. - Josh Baines

'The above biography is as written by MK Kilmarnock. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: MK Kilmarnock

Kills: None

Killed By: Madison Springer

Collected Weapons: MTs225 Shotgun (assigned weapon, to Caroline Ford)

Allies: Madison Springer

Enemies: 

Mid-game Evaluation: 

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes:

Other/Trivia

 * MK Kilmarnock won the November 2019 Best Death Award for Nathan's death.

Threads
Below is a list of threads containing Nathan, in chronological order.

The Past: V7 Pregame: V7:
 * Registered Lobbying
 * A Special Education
 * Presidential Election Speeches
 * You've Been Struck By...
 * The Robot With Human Hair
 * Son of Robot
 * Unicorn on the Gallows
 * Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay
 * ...A Smooth Criminal

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Nathan Coleman. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

Kilmarnock has a history of going off the beaten path with his characters, and Nathan is no exception. A kid with Down Syndrome in the story of SOTF could easily attract all sorts of concerns and controversy, but MK used his expertise in the subject to write a flawless voice for Nathan that meant the portrayal never felt distasteful or shallow. Combine that with his fantastically crafted relationship with Madison Springer, brought about thanks to Mimi's own excellent skill as a writer, and you get a story that will make you weep in sympathy, clinging to the hope that somehow, in spite of the horror that is SOTF, ''everything will be ok. ''

My heart hurts now. Thanks. ~Slam